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UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

THOMAS J. SLOAN, OF NEW YORKVN. Y.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 8,027, dated April 8, 1851.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. SLoAN,

of the city, county, and State of'New York,

have invented certain new and useful Im- `provlenfienfts inl`Bowling-Alleys and Pins Therefor, and that the following is a full,

clear, and exact description thereof, referand trouble is lost insetting them up when y knocked down by the players. Manyseriousinconveniences and sometimes accidents result from this stateofthings whichiit is the object and purpose 'of this invention to overcomeand avoid. I propose to accom-` plish this by an arrangement for settingall the pins up by a single `motion of a lever at what is called thehead of the table, and by which also the pins are all brought at onceinto their proper relative positions.

The first part of my invention consists in` making the `bases of thepins spherical when thislis combined with the use of a set of elevatingsockets (one for each pin and each onemovable on a fixed rod) and` v mypins b in the same relative positions with respect to each other as isnow" practised. The bosses c, permanently attached to the frame CZ ofthe table, pass up through ten holes in the table to a level with it,the upper end of each being circular socket e in which ts the sphericalbase f, of the pins b which are sustained therein by the tension of asmall spring 7L in the bottom of the said socket. The tension of thisspring is just sufficient to Sustain the pin in a vertical position.When the pins are struck by a ball thrown by a player, the tensive forceof the spring h is overcome, and they fall over but not enrovided with aWitnesses:

tirely to the table,as their ends are confined in the circular socketse. When one pin is lmocked from the force of the blow into thisposition, it rotates around the center of its spherical base and causs"those pins within its reach to fall down. Y

In setting up the pins all together, `the I operatic-n is as follows:Under the table and directly below the pins is what I call the elevatorc' which is a board provided with ten holes directly opposite the tenholes in the table a. This elevator is horizontal and has a verticalmotion on the bosses@ and guided by the stud pins j. Between the tableand the elevator, and surrounding the bosses c, are what I` call theelevating sock-` et-s or rings lo, which, when the pins are down and itis desired to 'setthem up, are caused bythe motion of the elevator i tobear against the shank or largest part of the pins and rise through thetable in the posi` tion seen in dotted lines in Fig. 3, until the p pinsare all brought into a vertical position in which they are sustainedbythe tension of the small spring 71 in connection with the circularsockets e as` before described. The elevating board being then loweredthe elevating sockets sink to a level with the surface of thetableand'the pins are ready to receive another ball.

Motion is communicated to the elevator by means of the forked levers Zand inflexible rods or connections m from the hand lever 0 at the headof the'table or by any othervarr'angement desired. The balls arereturned by means of inclined ways or otherwise. i

The advantages of my improvements consists in the saving of time andlabor in settingwup the pins, saving the expense of an attendant forperforming this duty, and the absence of liability to accident topersons from the flying of the pins or balls.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is-Elevating thepins of a bowling alley by means of a set of 'elevatingsockets operated from the head of the table when this is combined withany well known device or devices which will permit the `pins to fall andsustain them in a vertical position after they are elevated,substantially as described.

" THOS. J. SLOAN.

ALEX.. PORTER BROWN, GEO. W. EIGHELLS.

